I imagine there was a time when my parents lamented the passing of doo-wop from their radio dial. Then Bruno Mars came along. So perhaps one day, when I'm old and decrepit, I'll be surprised and delighted by the return of wailing, distortion-crazed electric guitars to popular music. As it stands, the only time I hear the thunderous sounds of my youth is at sporting events or on TV news stories about sporting events - because apparently, Marshawn Lynch wouldn't look as beastly to the strains of Fidelio.

Look, I get it. Times change, tastes evolve and fist-pumping and head-banging give way to twerking and whatever the hell Sia is doing in that "Chandelier" video. Yet somewhere down deep, on a level that rises below the lofty ideals of mature political correctness, I contend we all still wanta rawk. Well, brothers and sisters, if that sentiment resonates with you, then this is your lucky week. All-time titans of the form are on their way to Tacoma even as we speak. The Dome will once again be slammed by gnashing power chords and tachycardiac drum solos, so cry havoc - and let slip the monsters of rock!

With such massive hits as "Living After Midnight" and "You've Got Another Thing Comin," Judas Priest is among the best-loved heavy metal bands in the U.S. and UK. Flamboyant lead singer Rob Halford, celebrated for his wide range and operatic screams, was an MTV staple during the Headbangers Ball years. Starting in 1978, the then-closeted singer acted out by swapping his bell bottoms and fringed shirts for leather and S&M gear. (Amazingly, there were people who professed shock when Halford came out 20 years later; for the rest of us, he was a welcome note of diversity in an all too monotonous genre.) The band was featured in Guitar Hero and Rock Band, and MTV called Priest the second "Greatest Metal Band" of all time (behind only Black Sabbath). In 1990, a civil court in Nevada acquitted the group of inciting teen suicide with subliminal lyrics, because Your Honor, please. Priest was inducted into VH1's inaugural "Rock Honors" pantheon. Even Beavis & Butt-head had nothing bad to say about the group, making its chorus "Breakin' the law, breakin' the law!" their idiotically anarchic catchphrase. After almost a dozen years apart, Halford rejoined the band in 2003, co-headlining Ozzfest a year later. Now Priest is touring in support of a new album, Redeemer of Souls. Is it an old-timers' victory lap? Sure, but not the way you think: Redeemer debuted at #6 on the Billboard 200, making it JP's top-debuting album ever in the U.S. Talk about hell bent for leather.

JUDAS PRIEST, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, Tacoma Dome, 2727 E. D St., Tacoma, $35-$65, 253.272.3663